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Trump Has Roundtable on Defeating Radical Islamic Terror; New Monmouth University Poll; Shakeup in Trump Campaign; Trump Courts African-American Voters. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired August 17, 2016 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[14:30:37] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: On politics, we've just gotten some video that we have turned around really quickly for you. To set it up, you will see Donald Trump sitting around a table. Happening at Trump Tower right now, a lot of notables. This is a roundtable on defeating radical Islamic terror. Here's a peek.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, (R), FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Basically, this is a barrier that's going to be overcome and Mike -- Pete, you've had hearings on this and you know that the local police feel they're not getting the feel, like they're flying blind for some time. And the FBI has got -- this is something that needs leadership from a president like Donald Trump. Because this is something has to come from the top. The FBI is told you've got to share with the local police. You've got to give them information. You've got to set up mechanisms for doing that.
And the police need to be able to surveil. (INAUDIBLE).
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So you just heard former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, next to him, New York Congressman Peter King.
I've got our political director here at CNN, David Chalian.
I want you to join in.
As we look at optics of this, this is what we call in news speak, a pool spray. So it is just a little bit. But it looks kind of like a cabinet meeting.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I wonder if they call that the cabinet room at Trump Tower. It does kind of look like a cabinet meeting in that way, obviously with candidate sort of set up where the president normally sits at the cabinet table in the cabinet room. Don't know if we're hearing from Donald Trump in this spray --
(CROSSTALK) BALDWIN: I'm told we don't.
CHALIAN: Usually, when you have a spray like this, you hear from the president. That's the part that the press comes in for and gets the sound from.
It is interesting here that they didn't have the candidate say anything. Also Kellyanne Conway, the new campaign manager --
(CROSSTALK)
CHALIAN: -- next to Paul Manafort the chairman, which is obviously also a symbol that he's still at the table.
BALDWIN: He's still at the table.
CHALIAN: Clearly, this is a shakeup. But their line on this is this is an expansion. That's the kind of image that they are seeking to portray. The look of this as a cabinet meeting is really something.
BALDWIN: So you have that today.
I have also been handed -- Monmouth University poll released today. We have some new numbers. Trump has a huge lead in Indiana. Don't know if we have numbers.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Hillary Clinton, huge lead in both Colorado and Virginia. They are statistically tied in Iowa.
CHALIAN: Monmouth poll in Indiana and Quinnipiac University polls in though these states of Colorado, Iowa and Virginia. Indiana is good news for Donald Trump that what is a reliably red state. Yes, Barack Obama eked it out in 2008. But Mitt Romney brought it back in 2012 to the Republicans. It is still very much in square. Interestingly enough, in that same poll, Evan Bayh, candidate for Senate, is up. Trump well ahead there.
What is interesting to note in the other battleground states there, we confirmed now, Colorado and Virginia, which before Barack Obama was in office had been falling into the Republican column, are now very much in Hillary Clinton's favor. That's a big deal. Those are some prizes that she's being able to sort of develop big leads in and make it real tough for Donald Trump.
Iowa, a state that Barack Obama won twice, there is really close. We've seen that again and again. That remains one of the real fierce battlegrounds of this election so far. Donald Trump has remained very competitive. It is also a whiter electorate in Iowa, which would make sense and sort of the demographic strength we see on the Trump side.
BALDWIN: Talked to Josh Green with "Bloomberg Business Week" with his piece on Steve Bannon, who has been plucked to help Mr. Trump here. Thoughts? Rumination? [14:35:00] CHALIAN: I think this is Donald Trump clearly getting to
a place where you can feel most comfortable for the duration of the campaign.
BALDWIN: What's most comfortable?
CHALIAN: What we saw during the primary season. Most comfortable is speaking his mind. Now I don't necessarily think it's an end to the teleprompter because I think --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Even though that's what some of our reporting is.
CHALIAN: Yeah. Some sources have said that but I would be curious to watch to see that. Because the last two days he was on the teleprompter but on a message that even Steve Bannon would see as a really good message. It wasn't a message necessarily to placate the establishment as much as it was this law and order, this anti-terror message, this failure of the Obama/Clinton administration as Donald Trump puts it.
So I think that you're -- look at what they're discussing today at Trump Tower. This is now the third day that he has been sort of on this, either pro law enforcement or tougher national security message that I think they see a wide opening for them to play in from now through November.
Clearly, though, the notion of whether or not he endorsed Paul Ryan, whether or not he was doing the right thing by the RNC, that he wanted to be freed from. I think in selecting Bannon, you have a street brawler. That part -- the queen's part of Donald Trump, that part I think is going to come back out in full force.
BALDWIN: David Chalian, Thank you very much.
CHALIAN: Sure.
BALDWIN: Thank you. Thank you.
Coming up here, sort of, to your point here, Donald Trump calling for more policing as he courts African-American voters, perhaps. And in the middle of it, he called Hillary Clinton a bigot. He said Democrats have failed the African-American community. We'll talk about those comments after this quick break.
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[14:41:00] BALDWIN: Despite Donald Trump's dismal polling numbers among African-American voters, he openly courted this voting bloc before a mostly white crowd in Wisconsin. Trump said African- Americans have been taken for granted by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: I'm asking for the vote of every African-American citizen struggling in our country today who wants a different and much better future.
We reject the bigotry of Hillary Clinton, which panders to and talks down to communities of color and sees them only as votes. That's all they care about. Not as individual human beings worthy of a better future. They have taken advantage.
The problem in our poorest communities is not that there are too many police. The problem is that there are not enough police.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: With me now, Symone Sanders, Democratic strategist and former national press secretary for Bernie Sanders. Also with me, Pastor Darrell Scott, Trump supporter and senior pastor at New Spirit Revival Center.
Great to have both of you back on.
Pastor, if I may, let me just begin with you.
Listen, he wasn't in Milwaukee last night. He was 40 or so miles down the road in west Bend, made a speech at a place that was majority white. He has been running this campaign for a year and some change and thus far he has turned down invitations from groups of color to speak. Do you understand why critics are questioning Mr. Trump's sincerity?
DARRELL SCOTT, PASTOR, NEW SPIRIT REVIVAL CENTER & DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: I happen to know for a fact that Mr. Trump is sincere in his outreach to African-Americans. Critics are going to find something to question him about no matter what he says or does. But you know, the main reason blacks don't support Trump now is because they've been convinced that he's racist by his opposition. I mean that's the depiction of Mr. Trump that they are trying to convey to the African-American community.
BALDWIN: So then why wouldn't he say yes to these invitations to go speak at black churches and black colleges to say, I'm not?
SCOTT: Well, you know, the NAACP event was scheduled right around the time of the RNC. I really believe that was a scheduling conflict. The other venues, I really don't know of a lot that he's turned down. But you know what? To be honest, if you're going into a venue that already has a made-up mind against you, and they want to use you as a publicity tool or publicity resource, then you have to be careful about considering where you go. You just don't go anywhere.
BALDWIN: Symone, how do you see this?
SYMONE SANDERS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST & FORMER NATIONAL PRESS SECRETARY, BERNIE SANDERS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Well, one, I see this as not only do you just not go anywhere, Donald Trump hasn't gone anywhere near people that are of color, particularly African-Americans and Latinos, to court their votes.
Furthermore, I see that the Trump campaign holding an event outside of Milwaukee nowhere where there are black people present but speaking at black people? Or attempting to speak at black people was a huge and failed attempt to pander to African-American voters.
Look, I have worked on a number of --
(CROSSTALK)
SANDERS: I have worked on a number of campaigns and the first rule is you have to meet people where they are. You have to go into communities. You have to be willing to sit down at the table with people and have a real dialogue. I think that's what has dinged Donald Trump because he hasn't been willing to do those things.
Last thing I'll note on this is that --
SCOTT: But --
SANDERS: No. The last thing I'll note is that, a little rhetoric is not going to change what African-American voters in this country already know. This is the person that is supported by white supremacists. Donald Trump is the same man that --
SCOTT: Come on, come on, come on. Come on, now.
SANDERS: -- issues disavowing David Duke and the KKK.
(CROSSTALK)
SANDERS: This isn't a narrative. These are just the facts. These are just the facts.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Hold on. Hold on.
Go ahead, Pastor.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Let's have the pastor respond.
[14:45:10] SCOTT: Hillary Clinton -- Hillary Clinton has been a friend of white supremacists in the past as well. She's been endorsed as well. All of this strategy that you are saying Donald Trump should have --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Wait. When was Hillary Clinton endorsed by a white supremacist?
SANDERS: Unfounded attacks from the Republicans.
(CROSSTALK)
SCOTT: Didn't this guy endorse her? And who was that Senator, Robert Byrd, that she was a friend of? I think these people were all white supremacists.
But not only that, for you to say he needs to shake hands and court people at that level, how did that work for Bernie Sanders? He got destroyed by Hillary Clinton --
(CROSSTALK)
SCOTT: So that strategy -- that strategy -- the bottom line, every four years, the Democratic Party drops out the narrative of pin the racist on the Republican. They try to make everything that Donald Trump says or does racist in its motivation, and it's not. The reason they do that is because that's all they have on him.
Let me tell you something about Hillary Clinton.
(CROSSTALK)
SANDERS: OK, Brooke. Wait.
BALDWIN: Hold on, hold on.
(CROSSTALK)
SCOTT: Hold it. The thing that kills is this.
BALDWIN: Go ahead.
SCOTT: The thing that kills is this. Black people believe satire. Black people believe parody. I had a guy that I considered to be a very intelligent person sent me a headline from a satire website that said Donald Trump plans on deporting all African-Americans back to Africa. And he believed it.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Let's not talk about satire. Let's talk about reality. Pastor, let's talk about reality. The crux of this is we know what happened in Milwaukee over the weekend. And when Mr. Trump, I know he talks about improving --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: He talked about improving economy -- the economy, and in it, more impoverished communities thinking perhaps that would improve community policing thus improving lives of African-Americans. But don't you think there should be some acknowledgement of law enforcement in communities of color and perhaps issues there as well around the country? I haven't heard him talk about that.
SCOTT: Well, one thing that I notice Trump tries not to be is reactive. So he's not being reactive in his responses. I mean, he already had the venue scheduled for his meeting in Wisconsin. He didn't know that there would be a riot, a baseless riot at that, in Milwaukee days before his scheduled venue. So it is not like Hillary Clinton showing up at a high school gym. He has to rent these venues several weeks in advance and they have to make preparations to be there.
You know, Trump's appeal or Trump's -- his engagement with the community is on a larger scale than the average politician. Trump can't walk down the street shaking hands and kissing babies. It would be a mad house. I mean they're turning thousands of people away.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: I understand. I understand.
SANDERS: Brooke, I have to say.
BALDWIN: Forgive me, just as I'm tough on the Trump side, I have to be tough on the Democratic side. Isn't it worth hearing out Trump's points on increasing policing? Is that a bad thing?
SANDERS: Yes, it is a bad thing. Here's why. If you go into communities and talk to people -- let's give you an example. I'm in Washington, D.C. When you walk down the streets of Georgetown, there are shops, there are people walking around, and you feel safe. There's not a heavy police presence. There's nothing about being in Georgetown that, inherently, just by being there, because you don't see police officers, makes one feel unsafe. If you go just a couple miles down the way in the southeast D.C., there are police officers teaming across the community. There are people are parked on corners waiting to catch people doing something that they think is wrong. There is a misconception that more police officers equals more safety in communities. We have to rethink the way --
(CROSSTALK)
SANDERS: -- that we look at policing in this country. What we do have to be able have to a real dialogue and we have it to support our police officers, which is what Secretary Clinton has said. Donald Trump talks about law and order, but he hasn't put out any policies on the table. Secretary Clinton has -- has created policies, has supported legislation --
(CROSSTALK)
SANDERS: No. Let me finish.
(CROSSTALK)
SANDERS: Excuse me, pastor. I'm not done.
(CROSSTALK)
SANDERS: Secretary Clinton has supported policies for police officers.
(CROSSTALK) SANDERS: Secretary Clinton has co-authored legislation.
BALDWIN: Wait, wait.
SANDERS: No, it is my voice. Secretary Clinton has co-authored legislation to provide benefits to spouses, whose spouses are killed in the line of duty.
SCOTT: Yeah --
SANDERS: But when we talk about police/community relations, when we talk about the need to talk about criminal justice reform and real issues that are facing our communities, we have to talk about facts and we have to talk from both sides.
(CROSSTALK)
SANDERS: And Donald Trump is not talking from both sides.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: All right, we have to leave it there.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Pastor Scott, Symone --
SANDERS: Thank you. It's so great. Thank you.
BALDWIN: -- we have to leave it.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you both so much.
Always tough when we have everyone talking at the same time.
[14:39:58] Coming up here, we'll pivot and talk Olympics. Swimmer Ryan Lochte back here in the United States. Questions swirl over what actually happened in Brazil on the night he and some other swimmers say they were robbed. What really happened? We're live in Rio.
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BALDWIN: We have all been there, combing store racks looking for the perfect item. And now traditional bricks-and-mortar stores are using new technology.
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UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This type of shopping is becoming the old way of doing things. E-commerce is nipping at the heels of brick and mortar retail sales. That's because online retailers know you better. They can track your every move, what we like, what we buy, and how we shop.
But a new heat mapping technology, called Prism, is evening the playing field for brick-and-mortar stores, like Rachel Shechtman. RACHEL SHECHTMAN, FOUNDER, STORY: I think we are on the brink of
retail Armageddon. But what would Amazon be without insights and analytics.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you can't track them while they shop, customers might as well be invisible.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Prism figured out how to use security cameras to track shopper's motions, what they touched, which way they entered, and which areas they liked most.
(on camera): Is red good or bad?
[14:55:05] CLIFF CROSBEE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PRISM SYSTEMS: Red is busy. The same way Amazon and all these big online guys understand their customers through what they do, what they click and what they go on. Retailers need to understand that as well. We get that same kind of data.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are 25 things on this table. How do you know what people are picking up?
SHECHTMAN: When you are looking at the map, it will give you a sense of where the most action is. Kind of look at that, then pull the skews here, look at sales and say, this journal's not selling. Maybe it is because this sign is right in front of it. I think we might have to play a little bit of retail temptress.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prism clients range from supermarkets to furniture stores to big tech retailers.
CROSBEE: Just to make sure that all my stores kind of conform is an action that's going to increase sales. If everyone is executing properly or it is going to save costs because I think you travel around to 20 stores to do that. Retail is a real live things that's happening every minute. So every minute you don't change something in retail, you've probably missed an opportunity.
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